UPMC invests in VeloSource, its longtime physician staffing vendor
- UPMC Enterprises invested in locum tenens agency VeloSource, announced Oct. 14.
- It is the first such investment VeloSource has received.
- UPMC’s Richard Wadas, MD, becomes VeloSource’s chief medical officer.
- HRSA projects a shortfall of 141,160 full-time physicians by 2038.
PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES — UPMC has invested in VeloSource, the locum tenens agency that has long supplied the Pittsburgh-based health system with contingent clinicians.
The deal turns a longtime vendor relationship into an investment, giving UPMC a seat on the board of the outside firm that helps fill its physician staffing gaps.
A first for the vendor
The investment came through UPMC Enterprises, the system’s innovation arm, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
VeloSource said Oct. 14 that it is the first such investment the company has received, and it did not disclose the size of the deal.
The St. Louis-based agency, a portfolio company of private equity firm Interlock Equity, plans to use the funding to expand its AI-enabled staffing platform.
That platform runs on technology from Atlanta-based workforce technology company Syncx.
VeloSource also wants to replicate its contingent staffing management program at health systems nationwide.
Clinical leadership on both sides
Under the deal, Richard Wadas, MD, an emergency medicine physician and UPMC’s vice president of community and ambulatory services and network development, becomes VeloSource’s chief medical officer while keeping his UPMC roles.
“The Syncx workforce technology platform gives UPMC a complete picture of our staffing needs and available resources,” Dr. Wadas said.
“UPMC has been a valued contingent staffing client of ours for a long time, and we are excited to level up our working relationship with this strategic investment,” said Jeff Schaal, VeloSource’s chief executive officer.
Beyond locum tenens placements, the firm offers vendor management and managed service provider programs, a physician float pool and applicant tracking software.
Why staffing strains health systems
Nick Shapiro, a vice president at UPMC Enterprises, said placing physicians across more than 40 hospitals and hundreds of outpatient locations is “a complex process to manage and a meaningful challenge for all health systems.”
The federal Health Resources & Services Administration projects a national shortfall of 141,160 full-time physicians across all specialties by 2038, VeloSource said.
An estimated 56,000 physicians work as locum tenens today, a number the company expects to grow.
What health systems should weigh
For health systems, the deal shows a buyer moving from purchasing contingent clinicians to shaping the vendor’s product, a step beyond a standard healthcare outsourcing contract.
Systems that rely on a staffing agency for locum tenens coverage can ask how its vendor management and float pool tools show internal capacity before outside clinicians are booked.
They can compare partners on the top healthcare outsourcing companies in the United States list.
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